The use of mobile telecommunication services has become ubiquitous as technology advancements continue to provide ever-improving levels of quality, communication options, and mobile device features at affordable price levels. As the subscriber base continues to grow, many subscribers are even foregoing traditional land-line telephone connections in favor of using a mobile line as their sole personal method of telephone access. Competition among service providers for new and existing subscribers is fierce. Service providers spend millions in advertising campaigns designed to build a brand identity that appeals to consumers. Additionally, in order to entice a potential subscriber to sign up for service, providers often subsidize a part or all of a communication device purchase in exchange for the subscriber agreeing to enter into service contract of a specified length. As such, a given service provider has a substantial investment in its subscriber base.
An important factor in maximizing a service provider's profit is to minimize the number of customers leaving to go to a competitor. The rate at which customers leave to obtain services from competitors is often referred to as “churn” in the industry. As with any business it is imperative to foster goodwill between the customer and the brand through excellent customer service and competitive features. A common feature of many service providers is reduced cost or free airtime during non-peak hours such as nights and weekends. In addition, many service providers have implemented programs designed to create customer loyalty and minimize churn. Among these programs are free in-network calls. These programs can encourage subscribers to recommend their service provider to family and friends so that many of their wireless calls will be free. If a number of the subscriber's acquaintances follow this recommendation, each can converse wirelessly with the subscriber without the calls deducting from either party's pool of available airtime. Once the subscriber's service contract expires he or she is free to go to seek service from a competitor, but if this decision is made, then the benefit of free in-network calls to the family and friends also using the current service provider will be lost. In this way, free in-network call programs can encourage customer loyalty.
In order for a feature such as free nights and weekends or free in-network calling to generate goodwill with a customer, however, that customer must be aware that he or she is receiving that benefit. With post-paid calling plans and large monthly minute allotments, customers may often forget or be unaware of the benefits they are receiving for being a customer of a given service provider. Unless the customer reads the call history portion of their monthly bill in detail, they may not attribute a low amount of airtime used to nights/weekends and in-network calling programs. To achieve the potential minimization of churn and maximization of customer loyalty provided by these programs, systems and methods are needed to bring these benefits to a subscriber's attention at or near the time that the benefits are bestowed.